For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. Aristotle.
Children love the idea of putting up a lemonade stall in warm weather but they probably dont realise that in order to make money on the stall, they need to do a lot of planning and even invest some money into it, to start with!
To teach our children this, a Lemonade Selling Mathematics Activity was organised for the students of class V. It aimed to help them comprehend the involvement of math in everyday life and to give students an experience of money transactions, besides learning the concepts of profit and loss.
The children were asked to bring fresh lemons, sugar, salt and few glasses. They were first guided on pricing the ingredients and then calculating the total cost of making a glass of lemonade.
With the assistance of their teachers, students then prepared the lemonade and started selling during the break. There were two sizes - small and big priced at 5 and 10 respectively.
The skills that were being practiced through the activity were Estimation Students were estimating the glasses being sold and the money to be received. Their estimations were almost accurate! Money Sense Counting money. Students were able to handle the money without assistance. They were quick and accurate in dealing with the money, both while accepting the money and whilst returning the change. At the end, they calculated the profit or loss incurred. Data Handling While they were selling, students maintained a record of every small and big glass sold, using tally marks. Voila! The numbers of glasses sold and the money received matched perfectly at the end! Interpersonal Children interacted well with each other. Each child was given a responsibility and he/ she coordinated well.
It was amusing to see children devise different ways to publicise their stalls. They were enthusiastic to sell everything they had. Some prepared posters, others prepared a song-rap to attract buyers. At the end of the activity, each class counted their earnings and their profit or loss.
DATE CLASS COST PRICE SELLING PRICE PROFIT LOSS 13.07.2016 V-A 773 1300 567 - 11.07.2016 V-B 575 950 375 - 15.07.2016 V-C 1100 1215 115 - 20.07.2016 V-D 860 450 - 410 20.07.2016 V-E 860 490 - 370
The money that was earned was offered as Shramdan.
This was yet another delightful exercise of edutainment!
Ms. Mehak Gumber.
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